009784   Hemaprabha E;Balasaraswathi R (Biochemistry Dep, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural Univ, Coimbatore-641 003, Email: hemabioteck@gmail.com) : Construction and analysis of cDNA library for Tospovirus resistance genes. Icfai Univ J Sci Technol 2009, 8(8), 19-22.

In order to isolate a cDNA clone of tospovirus resistant R gene, a cDNA library was constructed in Uni-ZAP XL vector with poly(A) RNA purified from leaves of Lycopersicon peruvianum EC 52071. The library showed around 40 fold more white plaques than blue plaques. To get the probe for screening the library, PCR of cDNA was conducted using the gene specific primers designed for a portion of the tospovirus resistance genes based on the already available sequence from the L. peruvianum Sw 5 gene. The eluted 943 bp cDNA product obtained from RT-PCR using the above gene-specific primers were cloned in pTZ57R/T vector using TA cloning strategy and sequenced. The cDNA library was screened with the amplified fragment as a probe. Positive signals corresponding to around 150 plaques were seen in all 20 plates. All the 150 positive plaques were subjected to one more round of screening by replating and rehybridizing with the same probe. The presence of cDNA of interest in plaques selected at random were confirmed by PCR amplification. The cDNA library constructed using the ZAP Expressr cDNA synthesis kit is a source for many genes in tomato. The library can also be utilized for isolation of other resistant genes and also of genes of agronomic importance.

^ssc4 illus, 21 ref

009783   Haseeb A;Iliyas M;Chakrabarti S;Farooqui A A; Naik S R;Ghosh S;Suragani M;Ehtesham N Z (Molecular biology Unit, National Institute of Nutrition, Jamai Osmania, Hyderabad-500 604, Email: nasreen_el@hotmail.com) : Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ and their association with plasma levels of resistin and the metabolic syndrome in a South Indian population. J Biosci, Bangalore 2009, 34(3), 405-14.

Studies on the association of the Pro 12A1a and C1431T polymorphisms of PPARγ with diabetes and obesity have revealed extensive population-dependent variations. However, association of these polymorphisms with the metabolic syndrome and its individual components has not been well investigated in the Indian population. The Indian population harbours the maximum number of diabetics in the world who are thus more susceptible to metabolic disorders. We screened a South Indian population (N = 699) for a possible association of these polymorphisms with the metabolic syndrome (MS) and type 2 diabetes. We also investigated the correlation of these two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with plasma resistin levels. The ?143 IT SNP was associated with higher levels of plasma resistin (P= 0.017). Furthermore, C1431T was associated with resistin in different tertiles. Prevalence of the 'Pro-C' haplotype decreased with increasing tertiles of resistin (84.1% to 75.4%, P = 0.037). Plasma resistin levels were not found to be associated with MS and type 2 diabetes. These results point to a likely association of plasma resistin levels with PPARγ polymorphisms in the Indian population.

5 tables, 39 ref

009782   Ghazi I A;Srivastava P S;Dalal V;Gaikwad K; Singh A K;Sharma T R;Singh N K;Mohapatra T (Plant Sciences Dep, School of Life Sciences, Hyderabad Univ, Hyderabad-500 046, Email: tm@nrcpb.org) : Physical mapping, expression analysis and polymorphism survey of resistance gene analogues on chromosome 11 of rice. J Biosci, Bangalore 2009, 34(2), 251-61.

Rice is the first cereal genome with a finished sequence and a model crop that has important syntenic relationships with other cereal species. The objectives of our study were to identify resistance gene analogue (RGA) sequences from chromosome 11 of rice, understand their expression in other cereals and dicots by in silico analysis, determine their presence on other rice chromosomes, and evaluate the extent of polymorphism and actual expression in a set of rice genotypes. A total of 195 RGAs were predicted and physically localised. Of these, 91.79% expressed in rice, and 51.28% expressed in wheat, which was the highest among other cereals. Among monocots, sugarcane showed the highest (78.92%) expression, while among dicots, RGAs were maximally expressed in Arabidopsis (11.79%). Interestingly, two of the chromosome 11 -specific RGAs were found to be expressing in all the organisms studied. Eighty RGAs of chromosome 11 had significant homology with chromosome 12, which was the maximum among all the rice chromosomes. Thirty-one per cent of the RGAs used in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification showed polymorphism in a set of rice genotypes. Actual gene expression analysis revealed post-inoculation induction of one RGA in the rice line IRBB-4 carrying the bacterial blight resistance gene Xa-4. Our results have implications for the development of sequence-based markers and functional validation of specific RGAs in rice.

5 illus, 30 ref

009781   Gaikwad R S;Mukadam D S;Chavan A M;Gadgile D P;Pangrikar P P;Kakde R B;Hatti A D (Seed Pathology and Fungal Biotechnol Lab, Botany Dep, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwads Univ, Aurangabad-431 004) : Effect of edaphic factors on seed propagation of Jatropha species. Ecotech 2009, 1(2), 128-9.

Deals with the study of impact of edaphic factors on seed propagation of Jatropha species. Seed propagation was better at 2.5 cm soil depth. Red soil and mix soil induces seed germinability.

2 tables, 5 ref

009780   Dalal S;Kataria S K (Biotechnology Dep, Kurukshetra Univ, Kurukshetra-136 119) : Pharmacological investigation of Eclipta alba as potent antibacterial agent. Ann Biol 2009, 25(2), 99-104.

Principal active compound of a well known Indian hepatoprotective herb, Eclipta alba was pharmacologically tested for antimicrobial studies. It is a traditional healer in various skin diseases. The in vitro antimicrobial activity of wedelolactone was evaluated using minimum inhibitory concentration and agar well diffusion method. The compound exhibited good activity against Sitiphylococcus aureus and Salmonella typhi. The MIC test showed the growth inhibition of S aureux at a concentration of 20.0 μg/ml, ZOI 9.14 mm and S. typhi at a concentration of 30.0 μg/ml, ZOI 9.12 mm. Shigella flexneri and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the most resistant bacterial strains. These results suggest wedelolactone as a promising antimicrobial agent.

1 table, 23 ref

009779   Blummel M;Rao S S;Palaniswami S;Shah L;Reddy B V S (NO, International Livestock Research Institute, Patancheru-502 324, Email: m.blummel@cgiar.org) : Evaluation of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) used for bio-ethanol production in the context of optimizing whole plant utilization. Anim Nutr Feed Technol 2009, 9(1), 1-10.

Eighteen hybrids and 16 varieties of sweet sorghum were investigated for yields of grain, stover, juice extract for bio-ethanol distillation and bagasse and the relationships between these productive traits. There was a large degree of independency between grain and siover yields, suggesting that sweets sorghum can provide both grain and fodder yield. Juice extract yields from the stems were not significantly related to grain yields. The differences in stover fodder quality traits were significant: nitrogen content ranged from 0.44 to 0.72% in hybrids and from 0.50 to 0.89% in varieties while in vitro digestibility ranged from 43.8 to 54.5% in hybrids and from 48.8 to 54.8% in varieties. Differences in in vitro digestibility of bagasse plus stripped leaves were also substantial, ranging from 39.3 to 49.1 % in hybrids and from 42.0 to 50.4% in varieties. The palatability of bagasse and stripped leaves to cattle was investigated by incorporation of the distillery residues of one sweet sorghum variety into a commercial feed block, replacing the traditionally used (non sweet) sorghum stover. There was no statistical difference in intake (DMI) and live weight gain (LWG) between bulls fed the bagasse plus stripped leaf based blocks (DMI of 3.7% of live weight and 0.73 kg/d of LWG) and bulls fed the original sorghum stover based commercial feed block (DMI of 3.5 % of live weight and 0.82kg/dof LWG). It is conclude that sweet sorghum can provide food (grain), fodder (bagasse/leaf residues) and bio-ethanol at the same time.

4 illus, 4 tables, 9 ref

009778   Bharathiraja B;Ayyappasamy S;Santhosh Kalash R (Biotechnology Dep, Arunai Engineeirng College, Tiruvannamalai-606 603, Email: btrbio@gmail.com) : Enhanced production of cellulase protein on mixture of xylose, lactose, cellulose and sugarcane leaf using Trichoderma reesei 992 6a. Icfai Univ J Sci Technol 2009, 8(7), 26-30.

Cellulase production was studied on the mixture of xylose, lactose and cellulose then it was compared to the natural source (sugarcane leaf) by the strain Trichoderma reesei 992 6a. The experiment was conducted on single substrate i.e., xylose, lactose, cellulose and the combination of these three substrates. Then sugarcane leaf was used as another substrate. The combination of the three substrate produced highest cellulase activity and reached the maximum protein than others. When compared to the other individual substrates and natural source (sugarcane leaf). A Triauxic pattern of utilization of three carbon sources was observed as well as compared to the single and natural carbon sources. Xylose and lactose was utilized first to support growth followed by cellulose to induce the cellulase enzyme production. The mixture of xylose, lactose and cellulose used in batch enzyme production. This mixture produced the highest maximal cellulase activity of 6.4 TFPU/ml in same time than others.

10 illus, 6 tables, 18 ref

009777   Avasn Maruthi Y;Aruna Lakshmi K;Ramakrishna Rao S;Apta Chaitanya D;Kaizar Hossain;Pavani D (Environmental Studies Dep, Inst of Sci, GITAM Univ, Visakhapatnam-530 045) : Role of traditional wood preservatives in preventing biodeterioration of fishing boats. Ecotech 2009, 1(2), 134-9.

Biodeterioration of marine structures and fishing craft is quite severe along the Visakhapatnam coast; at least 125 species have been repored from this area. In spite of the great economic importance attached to this problem in India, very little attention has been paid to the systematic study of fungal infestation and decay of traditional fishing craft. An examination of aged fishing craft made of Mango(Mangifera indicia) and jack wood) in operation swhowed the presence of some cellulolytic and lignolytic fungal species: Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolonifer, Fusarium species, Caldosporium species and Helicondendron species. In this study an attempt was made to evaluate the antifungal efficiency of three wood preservative treatments (Neem oil, Carbon black and Rosin) given to wood. Results revealed that Neem oil can be recommended as wood preservative and it should be included as basic ingredients of both traditional as well commercial wood preservatives.

6 tables, 14 ref

009776   Arvind Kumar;Gaurav S S;Acharya B (Research & Development Dep, Patanjali Ayurved, Haridwar, Uttarakhand, Email: arv1069@rediffmail.com) : Molecular characterizition of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera). J Ass Physns India 2009, 2(1), 98-100.

1 illus, 7 ref

008717   Zhao A;Shahi K R;Roner M R;Barot G;Fiore T; Pellerito C;Scopelliti M;Pellerito L;Carraher C E (Chemistry and Biochemsitry Dep, Florida Atlantic Univ, Boca Raton, FL33431, Email: carraher@fau.edu) : Ciprofloxacin polymers derived from diallyltin and divinyltin dihalides. J Polym Mater 2008, 25(2), 213-36.

The mitial synthesis of condensation polymers from newly available divinyltin dichloride and diallyltin dichloride and ciprofloxacin is accomplished employing a modified interfacial polycon-densation process. The polymeric (DP are about 2,000) products are rapidly (less than 15 seconds) formed in good yield. Infrared spectroscopy shows the formation of Sn-O and Sn-N bonds as predicted from the proposed structure. F-MALDI MS a/so shows ion fragments containing organotin in the predicted isotopic abundances as well as ion fragments containing both organotin and ciprofloxacin. The polymers exhibit low toxicity towards healthy WI-38 cells with variable toxicities towards a variety of cancer cell lines.

12 illus, 16 tables, 40 ref

008716   Yadav D;Bains N S (Plant tissue Culture and Biotechnology Laboratory, Botany Dep, Government Dunger College, Bikaner-334 001) : Free and bound amino acids production from different plant parts of some parasitic plants of the Thar desert of Rajasthan. Oikoassay 2008, 21(1-2), 13-16.

Cistanche tubulosa Wight. (Orobanchaceae) and Orobanche aegyptiaca Pers. Syn. (Orobanchaceae) were analysed for their amino acids content. Both parasitic plants are widely distributed in the arid and semi-arid zones of western Rajasthan and are seen to grow on stabilized sand dunes and sandy plains as a root parasite on Calotropis procera and Brassica campestris respectively. Amino acid contents were analyzed for different plant parts viz., root, stem and flower. Ten free, eight bound and some unknown ninhydrin positive spots were detected in various plant samples tested. The maximum number of bound amino acids (6) was found in the stem of O. aegyptiaca and minimum number of free amino acids (2) was found in the root and flower of C. tubulosa. The total amount of bound amino acids was found to be higher in the flower of O. aegyptiaca and minimum amount was recorded in the flower of C.tubulosa. The total amount of free amino acid was found to be higher in the root of O. aegyptiaca and minimum amount was found in the root of C.tubulosa.

2 tables, 7 ref

008715   Wadhwani C (School of Life Sciences, Jaipur National Univ, Jagatpura, Jaipur-302 025) : Catharanthus roseus : journey of a plant from traditional medicine to 21st centruy biotechnology. J Pl Sci Res 2007, 23(1-2), 105-29.

Origin, geographical distribution, natural history, morphology, use as a traditional medicine, nomenclature and taxonomy, taxonomical hierarchy, brief botany, cytogenetics, distribution of alkaloids, biochemical, cellular, pre-clinical and clinical pharmacology, pre-clinical toxicology, chemistry and uses in cancer therapy regimes in which indole alkaloids of Catharanthus roseus are an essential component; biosynthetic pathway of indole alkaloids; tissue culture advances; transformation of C. roseus using a Ri plasmid vector for hairy root generation gene transfer methods, the cell types that have been used for the transfer of gene including: hairy root culture; establishment of multiple shoot cultures and future prospects have been briefly reviewed. Quantitative and qualitative estimation of alkaloid, accumulation in hairy root cultures, scaling-up of alkaloid production in bioreactors for commercialization, regeneration of transgenic plants; analysis of genetic diversity and mapping of alkaloid content for marker assisted selection in analysis of genetic diversity in this sps, construction of a genetic linkage map, tagging of alkaloid content and other traits using molecular markers; desirable properties of molecular markers, kinds of molecular markers in genetic mapping are described. The future prospects have also been enumerated.

6 illus, 4 tables, 56 ref

008714   Sarkar A;Rajender Parsad (NO, Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, Pusa, New Delhi-110 012) : Block desings for two-colour microarray experiments. Pusa Agrisci 2006, 29, 38-54.

Problem of obtaining efficient designs for microarray experiments received considerable attention in the recent past. This paper presents an overview of the designs for two-colour rnicroarray experiments obtained in the recent past. A catalogue of most A-efficient block designs among the available designs in the literature along with their A- and D-efficiencies has been given for the benefit of the practicing statisticians and the experimenters.

5 illus, 3 tables, 15 ref

008713   Sarita Singh;Nigam V;Agrawal S B (Agronomy Dep, J.N.K.V.V., Jabalpur, (M.P.)) : Performance of various species of earthworms to convert bio-wastes into vermicompost. Life Sci Bull 2009, 6(1), 99-100.

Production efficiency of exotic and local species was assessed in terms of converting various biowastes into vermicompost was carried out in a earthen pot at Vermicompost Production Unit, Live Stock Farm, J.N.K.V.V., Adhartal, Jabalpur (M.P.) during 2004-2005. The five bio wastes like city garbage, vegetable waste, household waste, paper waste and crop weeds were taken under study and obtained data were analyzed for interpretating the results. Data reveal that the earthworm species and various bio wastes had significant effect on growth of worms as well as production of vermicompost. Eisenia fetida proved its superiority over local species in respect of percent recovery (43.3%) and their weight accumulation (213.4 g.) over the values 37.58% and 133.2 g. recorded from local species. The highest production of vermicompost was recorded from the vegetable wastes (6.02 kg.), whereas the lowest (3.72 kg.) obtained from the city garbage out of 12 kg. Out of the various wastes vegetable and paper wastes proved superior for the conversion into vermicompost.

1 table, 7 ref

008712   Rubina Begum;Parmar D;Prakash A (Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Centre, Barkatullah Univ, Bhopal (M.P.)) : Stevia rebaudiana (Bert.): an appropriate sugar substitute. Life Sci Bull 2009, 6(1), 39-44.

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. produces a number of high-potency low-calorie sweeteners in its leaf tissue. The sweeteners are diterpene glycosides and range between 30 and 320 times sweeter than sugar (Brandle et at, 1998). Stevioside (Steviol glycosides), the major sweetener present in leaf and stem, was first seriously considered as a sugar substitute in the early 1970s by a Japanese consortium formed for the purpose of commercializing stevioside and Stevia extracts (Kinghorn and Saejarto,1985). In addition, the sweet steviol glycosides have functional and sensory properties superior to those of many other high potency sweetener that can grow as natural food market in the future.

57 ref

008711   Prasanna B M;Hossain F (Genetics Div, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012, Email: bmprasanna@gmail.com) : Nanotechnology in agriculture. Pusa Agrisci 2006, 29, 7-15.

19 ref

008710   Parvathi C;Sivamani S;Prakash C (Chemistry Dep, Narasus Sarathy Institute Technology, Poosaripatty, Salem) : Removal of malachite green dye by useing biosorption method. Man Made Text India 2009, 52(4), 117-19.

Biosorption experiments were carried out in batch process for the removal of malachite green from its aqueous solution using pithophora sp, a fresh water algae as an adsorbent. The sorption capacity was found to be 45.017 mg/g at 30°C for an optimum solution pH of 3.25. The dye cations were found to get adsorbed onto pithophora sp due to strong electrostatic force of attraction. Negative value of free energy change indicates the spontaneous nature of biosorption.

1 illus, 1 table, 9 ref

008709   Oinam G;Sophiya L;Deepa Devi S;Koijam L; Avijeet Singh O;Boboy Singh H;Leingaklemba M K;Tiwari O N;Rohinikumar Singh M (Microbial Resources Div, Institute of Bioresources and Sustanable Development, Takyelpat, Imphal-795 001) : Structural and functional behaviour of cyanobacteria. Biosci Biotechnol Res Communs 2008, 1(2), 87-100.

Cyanobacteria are capable of adapting several different modes of metabolism with respect to their sources of carbon and energy. All of the known species have the ability to grow in light with carbon dioxide as the principal, if not sole, carbon source. When provided with organic compounds in addition to carbon dioxide, many cyanophytes utilize organic carbon in cell synthesis. The contribution of the organic substrate to cell synthesis varies widely from negligible amounts to the situation where enough of the organic compound is utilized to account for all of the carbon in newly synthesized cell material. Finally, a few species are reputed to be capable of growth in the dark on organic media; under these conditions, the organic compounds presumably act as a source of energy as well as a major source of carbon. During the last decade, cyanobacteria have become generally recognized as a major group which provides experimental material for all aspects of microbiology-with the commendable exception of invasive animal pathogenicity. Although there are predominant traits in their metabolism and ultrasturcture, cyanobacteria do exhibit a wider range than was previously thought. There are several other attributes of cyanobacteria which, though restricted to minority of species, can still be considered as important features of the group. These include complementary chromatic adaptation, the presence of gas vacuoles, morphological changes, particularly the formation of heterocysts associated with the onset of nitrogen deficiency and formation of tapered hairs in whole sections of filament associated with the onset of phosphate deficiency. Only the changes associated with nitrogen fixation are unique to the group. The present paper provides an overview of structural and functional behaviour of Cyanobacteria.

100 ref

008708   Moorthi P S;Deecaraman M;Kalaichelvan P T (Industrial Biotechnology Dep, Dr. MGR Educatinal and Research Institute, Dr. MGR Univ, Chennai) : Co-immobilization of Bacillus megaterium and rhizobium leguminosarum for efficient phosphorus and nitorogen fixation of Cicer aeritenum. J Pl Dis Sci 2009, 4(1), 1-6.

Phosphate solubilizing efficacy of Bacillus megaterium and nitrogen fixation by Rhizobium leguminosarum were determined as free cells and sodium alginate co-immobilized beads. Phosphatase activity was determined at different parameters like pH, temperature, salinity, glucose concentration, and organic manure. The optimum solubilization occurs at the pH ranging from 7 to 7.5 on Pikovskaya agar plates and the maximum solubilization efficiency was obtained at 273.33 ± 15.56 (S.E). The temperature of 28° C was found to be optimum and the maximum solubilization efficiency was observed as 251 ± 5.56. While above 37° C, solubilization efficiency was decreased. The maximum solubilization efficiency (390 ± 11.87) was recorded at 0.4% sodium chloride. The total activity of phosphatase was determined in different concentration of glucose and organic manure on Pikovskaya broth. The phosphatase activity was increased as 603.33 ± 31.11 unit/ml at 5% glucose concentration. The organic manure also improved the phosphatase activity (903.33 ± 37.78 unit/ml). In pot experiment, Cicer aeritenum (Chickpea) treated with B. megaterium alone and B. megaterium with R. leguminosarum were carried out in the form of free cell, immobilized beads, and immobilized seeds prepared with sodium alginate. When compared to free cell treatment, maximum growth was observed in the immobilized seeds and beads. The immobilized seed treatment showed faster germination in the initial days when compared to the free cell treatment. The growth of C. aeritenum was observed on 16th day as 26 cm. In the initial days, free cell treatment showed microbial population of 160 ± 2.67 CPU/ g of soil whereas, in the final days microbial population increased in the immobilized bead treatment showed 145.67 ± 2.22 CFU/g of soil. Nitrogenase activity was determined by acetylene reduction method. The maximum activity was found to be 16.76 ± 1.26 nmol C₂H₂/mg protein/hour in immobilized conditions.

6 illus, 2 tables, 11 ref

008707   Mathur P;Purohit S D (Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Botany Dep, Mohanlal Sukhadia Univ, P.O. Box 100, Udaipur-313 001, Email: sdp_1956@live.in) : Peroxidase and IAA oxidase activities during in vitro rooting of Chlorophytum borivilianum Sant. Et Fernand. Oikoassay 2008, 21(1-2), 3-7.

Activities of peroxidase and lAA-oxidase enzymes and their relationship with rooting process were investigated during in vitro rooting in the shoots of Chlorophytum borivilianum Sant. et Fernand. Minimum peroxidase activity was observed on third day (inductive phase) while it was maximum on ninth day (initiation phase) after the shoot were inoculated on rooting medium. Expression phase recorded decline in peroxidase activity which remained stable, subsequently. Concomitant changes in lAA-oxidase activity were observed in different phases of rooting. Studies have confirmed that these enzymes play very important role in the process of root formation and could be used as predictive markers for in vitro rooting.

2 illus, 1 table, 35 ref

008706   Lokendra Kumar;Mukherjee T;Balvinder Singh; Ghosh D (Biotechnology Dep, Sardar Bhagwan Singh Post Graduate Institute of Biomedical Scinences a, Balawala, Dehradun-248 161) : Isolation and characterization of bacterial L-glutaminase from soil isolates of Uttarakhand Himalaya. Indian J appl pure Biol 2009, 24(1), 91-5.

Enzymes are among the most important products obtained for human need through microbial sources. Some bacterial species have been targeted for the production of L-Glutaminase. Two L-glutanminase producing bacteria were isolated from soil of Uttarakhand Himalaya region and biochemically they were identified as Peptostreptococcus sp. and Bacillus sp. The enzyme was quantified spetrophotometrically by Nesslerization method. The Maximum enzyme activity was obtained at 72 h and 48 h for both the isolates respectively. The enzyme was characterized also at crude level. L-glutaminase of Peptostreptococcus sp. was found to be giving highest activity at 60°C and pH 7.5 while L-glutaminase of Bacillus sp. gave highest activity at 50°C for 2h and at pH 8. L-glutaminase of Peptostreptococcus sp. was found to be more robust than the other in terms of EDTA tolerance. This is the first report of this enzyme from bacterial isolates from Lachchiwala, Doon Valley, Uttarakhand Himalaya.

5 illus, 16 ref

008705   Koijam L;Singh O;Deepa Devi S;Tiwari O N; Singh M R K (Microbial Resource Div, Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Dev., Takyelpat, Imphal (Manipur)) : Culture studies of acid tolerant cyanobacteria of Manipur (NE Region of India) for phycobiliproteins and other pigments. Natn J Life Sci 2009, 6(1), 1-7.

Total two hundred fifty five (255) acid tolerant cyanobacteria were isolated from the different parts of Manipur including Loktak lake, Bishnupur (NE region of India) belonging to 27 genera were examined for chlorophyll-a, carotenoids and phycobiliproteins. Twenty five (25) fast growing isolates were screened for further investigation on the basis of culture studies and following isolates, namely, Limiwthrix vacuolifera, Anabaena oryzae, Lyngbya perelegans, Nostoc spongiaeforme were found to be the best for commercial exploitation, purposefully for all the pigments and phycobiliproteins (phycocyanin, phycoerythrin and allo-phycocyanin). Phycobiliproteins rich isolates produced multifaceted excellent colour during freezed and thawed conditions, which can be commercially used as natural dyes and comparable to the commercially available cyanobacterial strains.

2 illus, 2 tables, 14 ref

008704   Kishore G;Hasan M A;Sarma A P;Murthy S D M (Biochemistry Dep, S.V. Univ, Tirupati-517502) : Characterization of alterations in pigment and protein content and photochemical activities during senescence of dark incubated excised wheat primary leaves. Vegetos 2008, 21(2), 39-44.

Dark incubation (24-96 h) of wheat primary leaves of 8 days old plants induced several alterations in photosynthetic properties. Loss of chlorophyll, protein and carotenoid depending on the extent of incubation has been reported. Between two photosystems, photosystem II is main target for dark incubation induced aging. Thus the alterations of pigments and protein is responsible for alterations of electron transport in detached wheat primary leaves.

2 tables, 23 ref

008703   Kaur R;Majeed S;Kumar V;Mahajan R;Saxena B; Sharma D R (Biotechnology Dep, Dr. Y.S. Parmar Horticulutre and Forestry Univ, Nauni, Solan-173 230) : In vitro propagatin and conservation of gentiana kurroo - a temperate medicinal herb. J Pl Sci Res 2007, 23(1-2), 69-72.

Micropropagation procotol was developed for Gentiana kurroo Royal, an endangered temperate herb, 'found in the Himalayan region at an altitude of 1500 - 3000 m and used for the production of glycosides-gentiopicrine, gentiamarin, gentin and alkaloid gentiamarin A reproducible protocol was established for : 1) In vitro regeneration of shoots from axillary shoot buds, 2) In vitro induction of rooting, 3) Adaptation of regenerated plants to field and 4) Conservation by slow growth at low temperature. The axillary buds were cultured on Murashige and Skoog (1962) medium enriched with different levels and combinations of BAP, NAA, Kn, 2,4-D and GA₃. Rooting was induced by culturing in vitro regenerated shoots on half and one-fourth of MS medium supplemented with IBA. Rooted plantlets were transferred to field with 100 per cent survival. Multiplied shoots were cold stored at 8°C for different durations for conservation. The present protocol is for the fast multiplication of the endangered medicinal herb which is not yet under cultivation. The results demonstrated: 1) Feasibility of micropropagation method to produce large number of plants in a very short span, 2) In vitro conservation to make it available on sustainable basis.

2 tables, 14 ref

008702   Jacob J;Santha I M (Biochemistry Div, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi-110 012, Email: ims_bio@yahoo.com) : Isolation and characterization of beta-ketoacyl acyl carrier protein synthase III (KAS III) gene sequence from Brassica juncea. Pusa Agrisci 2007, 30, 17-24.

Partial genomic sequence of KAS III gene (568 bp was PCR-amplified using gene-specific primers from genomic DNA of B. juncea cv. Pus a Bold. The clone designated as pBJKAS5 was sequenced completely. Homology search showed that the partial gene is 97% identical at the nucleotide level to A. thaliana. This partial sequence was used to screen a genomic library of B. juncea constructed in EMBL3 vector for the complete cloning of KAS III gene. A putative clone obtained was plaque-purified and restricted, followed by Southern hybridization and subcloning of the hybridizing bands. To clone the KAS III gene, PCR was carried out using genomic DNA of B. juncea and two primers specific to KAS III sequences designed from Arabidopsis thaliana. The amplified product of 1542 bp was cloned, sequenced and designated as pBJKASG. The sequence of pBJKASG on BLAST search showed homology with KAS III sequences from various plant species both at nucleotide and protein levels. The 1542 bp long partial genomic sequence of B.juncea KAS III showed the presence of six exons and five introns. The deduced ORF encodes 283 amino acids starting from the initiating codon, ATG. Southern hybridization of genomic DNA with the probe pBJKAS5 revealed the presence of only one hybridizing fragment suggesting that KAS III may be a single copy gene.

3 illus, 2 tables, 18 ref

008701   Gupta S K (NO, Planning Commission, New Delhi-110 001) : Genetic modification : a significant biotechnological tool. Indian Fmg 2008, 58(3), 7-17.

Technologies for genetic modifications offer dramatic promise for meeting some areas of greatest challenge for the 21st century and beyond, particularly to feed the burgeoning population. Prior to genetic engineering, the exchange of DM material was possible only between individual organisms of the same genus as a part of traditional breeding. With the advent of genetic engineering, scientists have been able to identify and isolate specific gene/genes associated with desirable traits in one organism, and transfer of those beyond the boundaries of genera/species or even kingdom into another organism that cannot otherwise breed naturally. For example, genes from bacteria, viruses, or animals may be transferred into plants to produce genetically modified (GM) plants having changed genomes of desired characteristics.

008700   Ganie S A;Zargar M A;Masood A;Mir R A (P.G. Biochemistry Dep, University of Kashmir-190 006, ) : Antioxidant potentia of Malva sylvestries ethanolic extracts on ferric nitrate, ascorbic acid and various peroxide induced ghost membrane lipid peroxidation. Indian J appl pure Biol 2009, 24(1), 129-32.

Ethanolic extract of Malva sylvestris ethanolic were tested for antioxidant activities. Ethanolic extract of Malva sylvestris was found to have potential antioxidant as it could inhibit lipid peroxidation, and scavenge hydroxyl and superoxide radicals in vitro. The results of the study showed that degree of lipid peroxidation inhibition varied with different concentrations used. The thiobarbituric acid reactive species produced by oxidants used were maximally inhibited by 500μg/ml concentrations of Malva sylvestris ethanolic extract.

2 illus, 16 ref

008699   Gajbhiye P;Tantwai K (Biotechnology Centre, Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishvavidhyalay, Jablapur) : Effect of pretreatment on phytase yield in wheat bran, rice bran and soyhull. Indian J appl pure Biol 2009, 24(1), 105-10.

Investigation was conducted during the year 2005-2006 in the fermentation technology laboratory of biotechnology centre, JNKVV, Jabalpur. In the investigation, three different waste carbon sources viz; wheat bran, rice bran and soy hulls were analyzed for various chemical constituents and also subjected to chemical pretreatments with 0.2M acetate buffer and 0.3Macetate buffer for breakdown of lignocellulose into simple fermentable sugars for the growth of microbes .In this investigation, two different microbes viz; Aspergillus niger IARI-363 and Aspergillus ficuum IARI- 1461were used for production of enzyme from waste carbon sources, wheat bran pretreated with 0.2M acetate buffer were found to be the best with regard to the yield of enzyme under a pH of 6.5,incubation temperature of 30°C and incubation period of 192 hrs. These investigation also revealed that the yield of phytase produced from Aspergillus niger IARI-361 found to be the highest followed by phytase produced from Aspergillusficuum IARI-1461 on wheat bran pretreated with 0.2M acetate buffer.

1 illus, 2 tables, 8 ref

008698   Gajbhiye P (Biotechnology Centre, , Jabalpur) : Production of Phytase by Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus ficuum from whet bran, rice bran and soyhull. Indian J appl pure Biol 2009, 24(1), 253-8.

Three different waste carbon sources viz; wheat bran, rice bran and soy hulls were subjected to chemical pretreatments with 0.2M acetate buffer and 0.3 Macetate buffer for breakdown of lignocellu1ose into simple fermentaole sugars for the growth of microbes. In this investigation, two different microbes viz; Aspergillus niger IARI-363 and Aspergillus ficuum IARI-1461 were used for production of enzyme from waste carbon sources wheat bran pretreated with O.2M acetate buffer were found to be the best with regard to the yield of enzyme. various fermentation conditions viz., pH of medium, incubation temperature and incubation period were optimized for obtaining maximum enzyme production. The observation revealed that the highest yield of phytase from Aspergillus niger IARI-363 (2.23mg phosphorus/ml enzyme extract) was obtained with pH of 6.5, incubation temperature of 3O°C and incubation period of 192hr. Similarly, Aspergillus ficuum IARI-1461 gave 1.90mg phosphorus/ml enzyme extract at pH of 6.3, incubation temperature of 27°C and incubation period of 192hr.

2 illus, 2 tables, 5 ref

008697   Bhattacharyya B K;Bhattacharjee D (Biotechnology and Molecular Biology-R & D, East India Pharmaceutical Works Ltd., 119, Biren Roy Road (West), Kolkata-700 061) : Industrial aspects of medicinal plants. J Pl Sci Res 2007, 23(1-2), 91-4.

Plants are the richest source of medicinal compounds. The healthcare industry presently very much dependent on plant based materials. Majority of the world population depends on traditional medicine for their day to day health requirements, especially within developing countries. Now half of the plant drug sales come from single entities, while remaining part come from herbal remedies. The quality control of the herbal drugs are also of prime importance. So, the quality of the product has to be delt from cultivation of plant to finished product.

2 tables, 6 ref

008696   Barpete S;Sharma N C;Parmar D;Dhingra M (Genetics Dep, Barkatullah University, Bhopal-462 016) : Invitro induction of multiple shoots and plant regeneration of Khesari dal (Lathyrus sativus L.) using cotyledonary node explant. Indian J appl pure Biol 2009, 24(1), 81-6.

Efficient protocol for induction of multiple shoots and plantlet regenªeration of Khesari Dal (Lathyrus sativus L.) using vegetative cotyledonary node explants in presented. Multiple shoots were induced in vitro on MS medium augmented with variable concentrations of BAP and constant concentrations of NAA and KN in different sets of experiments. BAP (1.0 - 2.0 mg 1^{-1) with NAA (0.10 mg 1-1) responded well by showing high shoot multiplication from 72 to 87%. The shoots thus obtained have exhibited best rhizogenesis in half strength MS media augmented with IBA (0.75 mg 1-1 and 1.0 mg 1-1) and 5% coconut milk. The response noted was 74.6% and 67.4% respectively. During the whole year, plants have been regenerated several times and it was noted that the requirement for growth regulators was very specific and narrow.}

2 illus, 2 tables, 14 ref

008695   Bansal K C (National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology, IARI, New Delhi-110 012, Email: kailashbansal@hotmail.com) : Chloroplast genetic engineering: a novel strategy for generating transgenic plants. Pusa Agrisci 2006, 29, 1-6.

3 illus, 15 ref

008694   Bakshi D K;Arora J K (Biotechnology Div, Punjab State Council for Science & Technology, Chandigarh-160 019) : Genetically modified crops in Indian perspective : an overview. J Pl Sci Res 2007, 23(1-2), 1-9.

In India, vigorous efforts have been initiated for development of GM crops, in view of their potential and importance. As of now, Bt cotton is the only transgenic crop approved for commercial cultivation in the country. Since its introduction in 2002, there has been a phenomenal increase in the area under Bt cotton which presently stands at 3.5 million hectare. As of now, 111 hybrids and 4 events viz. Bollgard 1 (BG-l), Bollgard 2 (BG-2), Event 1 and GFM event of Bt cotton are approved for commercial cultivation in the country. The first GM food crop of India i.e. Bt brinjal is in pipeline for introduction in the market. In fact, with the release of Bt brinjal, India is likely to take global lead in introduction of first GM eggplant. Further, various other GM crops including rice, potato, tomato, mustard, groundnut and several other food crops are under different stages of development and trials in the country. The genetic modification is primarily targeted at introduction of crop protection traits which include: resistance to pests, disease & herbicides; abiotic stresses such as drought, heat, cold or salinity and quality traits for enhanced nutrition, shelf life, improved taste, colour, fragrance & increased productivity. The results of socio-economic impact assessment studies on Bt cotton are encouraging in terms of economic and environmental benefits.

50 ref

008693   Awasthi D;Nigam R K;Misra R;Ali S A (Minor Forest Produce Processing and Research Centre (MFP PARC), Barkhe, BHEL, Bhopal-462021) : Secondary metabolite enhancement through elicitationin micropropagated plants of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera L. Dunal). Biosci Biotechnol Res Communs 2008, 1(2), 173-80.

A methodology has been developed for enhancing the secondary metabolite (Withanolide-A and Withaferin-A) production through efficient shoot proliferation and regeneration of plants from axillary bud explants of Withania somnifera by studying the interactive effect of plant growth regulators and carbohydrates as an elicitor for stress induction. Explants cultured on Murashige and Skoog's (MS) medium supplemented with combination of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and Kinetin (KN) in concentration of 0.5 mg/l and 1.0 mg/l. respectively, sprouted with an average of 86.67% shoots, proliferated on 3/4 MS medium supplemented with BAP(0.1 mg/l) and KN(0.05 mg/l) with an average of 8 shoots per explant. Excised shoots from this culture were rooted on 1/2 MS medium with 2.0 mg/L IBA and supplemented with additional carbohydrate source (4% sucrose + 2% mannitol). The complete plantlets thus obtained were successfully transferred to soil. The roots of micropropagated plants showed higher accumulation of Withanolide-A and Withaferin-A which was 0.047% w/w and 0.0401% w/w respectively.

3 tables, 3 illus, 12 ref

008692   Ali S A;Saxena M;Krisham V M;Sajid M;Ali A S (Post Graduate Department of Biotechnology, Salfia College of Science & Education, Bhopal-462 001) : Biochemical studies of crude extracts of roots and leaves of Withania somnifera. Biosci Biotechnol Res Communs 2008, 1(2), 168-72.

Biochemical investigation of Ashwaghanda, Withania somnifera, a shrub commonly found in the Indian subcontinent has been done as this plant is increasing becoming popular for its medicinal uses. Various phytochemical like alkaloids, carbohydrates, proteins, saponins, flavonoids and phenols have been identified. Using HPLC and LC/MS the main active ingredients like Withaferin A, Withanolide A, Withanolide D and tropine have been reported.

2 tables, 2 illus, 18 ref

006457   Yang L;Liang J;Li H;Li L (Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Biotechnology for Plant Development, School of Life Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou-510631, P.R. China) : Cloning and expression analysis of an aldehyde oxidase gene in Arachis hygogaea L. J envir Biol 2009, 30(1), 93-8.

Aldehyde oxidase (AO) plays important role in plant hormone biosynthetic pathways, such as abscisic acid (ABA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The enzyme catalyzes the last step of the pathways. In the study, a full-length cDNA encoding an aldyhyde oxidase was cloned and sequenced from leaves of peanut by RT-PCR, RACE-PCR and genomic DNA walking methods. The full-length cDNA, designated as Arachis hygogaea L. aldehyde oxidase1 (AhAO1), consists of an open reading frame of 4131bp, a 326 bp 5' untranslated region and a 128 bp 3' untranslated region including a poly (A) tail of 21 nucleotides. The gene encodes a polypeptide of 1377 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 150 kDa and an isoelectric point (pI) of 6.99. Analysis of amino acid sequence of AhAO1 shows that it had 61%, 59% and 55% identity with the AOs from tomato, Arabidopsis and maize, respectively. The peanut AO polypeptide contains consensus sequences for iron-sulfur centers and a molybdenum cofactor (MoCo)-binding domain. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis showed that AhAO1 expression was higher in leaves than in roots of peanut.

4 illus, 1 table, 40 ref

006456   Tiwari K K;Dwivedi S;Singh N K;Rai U N; Tripathi R D (Ecotoxicology and Bioremediation Group, National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow-226 001) : Chromium (VI) induced phytotoxicity and oxidative stress in pea (Pisum sativum L.): biological changes and translocation of essential nutrients. J envir Biol 2009, 30(3), 389-94.

Due to widespread industrial use, chromium (Cr) is considered a hazardous environmental pollutant. It is known to inhibit plant growth and development. The study provides the evidence of the phytotoxicity of this metal on the pea (Pisum sativum L. cv Azad) plants. The plants of pea (Pisum sativum L.) were grown in refined sand under different concentrations i.e. 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 mM of Cr (VI) in order to study the effect on growth and yield, photosynthetic pigments, relative water content, non-reducing sugar and protein with activity of certain enzymes like catalase, peroxidase, starch phosphorylase and ribonuclease. The analysis of the results showed that photosynthetic pigments (68.68%), relative water contents (62.77%), non-reducing sugar (66.66%) and protein (81.57%) were decrease along with reduction in plant height (52.69%) and leaf area (50.81%) of the pea plants. However, in response to various concentration of Cr exposed plants showed significant induction of reducing and total sugars with enzymes like catalase, starch phosphorylase and ribonuclease. The translocation of Cr in various part of pea plant have been found in order of root> stem> leaves>seeds which ranged between 34.8 to 217.3 mg g^{-1 d.wt. (dry weight) in roots, 6.5 to 173.13 mg g-1 d.wt. in shoot, 4.2 to 74.43 mg g-1 d.wt. in leaves and 0.94 to 8.64 mg g-1 d.wt. in seeds, that is also reflected by the transfer factor of Cr from refined sand to tested species.}

1 illus, 4 tables, 52 ref

006455   Tiwari A K;Deepmala Singh;Tripathi S;Mishra N;Singh R B (NO, UP Council of Sugarcane Research, Shahjahanpur-274 001, Email: nehaupcsr@gmail.com) : Effect of BAP & kinetin on shoot initiation of Trichosanthes dioica Roxb. an important medicinal plant. Med Pl 2010, 2(1), 59-61.

Nodal and shoot tip explants were collected from field grown mature plants of pointed gourd (T. dioica) for initiation of shoot cultures. The sterilized explants were aseptically inoculated on MS medium supplemented with various concentrations of BAP and kinetin alone and in combinations. Observations were made on 15 explants showing shoot initiation, average length of shoot and number of days taken by nodal/shoot segments to initiate the shoots. Medium containing BAP (1mg/ml) proved better for establishment of nodal explants. Out of 15, 12 explants established successfully on this medium. The growth of shoots was also found better than on other media tried. It took minimum time (5-6 days) to initiate the culture and the length of the shoot was ~ 1.5 cm with a survival of 80%. BAP at a concentration of 1mg/ml was found most suitable for shoot initiation from nodal explants of T. dioica in the study.

^ssc 2 illus, 1 table, 18 ref

006454   Tham L G;Perumal N;Syed M A;Shamaan N A; Shukor M Y (Biochemistry Dep, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia) : Assessment of Clarias batrachus as a source of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) for the detection of insecticides. J envir Biol 2009, 30(1), 135-8.

Inhibitive assay of insecticides using Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from the local fish Clarias batrachus is reported. AChE was assayed according to the modified method of Ellman. Screening of insecticide and heavy metals showed that carbofuran and carbaryl strongly inhibited C. batrachus AChE. The inhibition concentration (IC) IC₅₀ values (and the 95% confidence interval) for both carbofuran and carbaryl inhibition on C. batrachus AChE at 6.66 (5.97-7.52) and 130.00 (119.3-142.5) μg l^-1, respectively, was within the IC₅₀ range of Electrophorus electricus at 6.20 (6.03-6.39) and 133.01 (122.40-145.50) μg l^-1, respectively, and were much lower than bovine AChE at 20.94 (19.53-22.58) and 418.80 (390.60-451.60) μg l^-1, respectively. The results showed that C. batrachus have the potential to be used as a cheaper and more readily available source of AChE than other more commercially available sources.

2 illus, 1 table, 13 ref

006453   Somnuek C;Boonphakdee C;Cheevaporn V;Tanaka K (Faculty of Science, Graduate School of Environmental Science, Burapha University, Chonburi-20131, Thailand) : Gene expression of acetylcholinesterase in hybrid catfish (Clarias gariepinus X Clarias macrocephalus) exposed to chlorpyrifos and carbaryl. J envir Biol 2009, 30(1), 83-8.

After serving as a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine is hydrolyzed by acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Inhibition of AChE is considered to be a specific biomarker for exposure to organophosphate and carbamate insecticides. In the study, the AChE gene was isolated from hybrid catfish brain by RT-PCR methods using degenerate primers. The amplified fragment of 966 nucleotides generated by PCR was cloned, and sequence analysis showed 82% nucleotide identity with AChE of the Electrophorus electricus. Specific primers of the hybrid catfish AChE gene were then synthesized and used in the examination of AChE gene expression in brain tissue of hybrid catfish exposed to sublethal concentrations of chlorpyrifos (0.43, 4.3 and 43 μM) and carbaryl (1.19, 11.9 and 119 μM) for 24 hr. Real-time PCR was used to compare with the amplified 28S rRNA gene. AChE gene expression was significantly elevated 12.4 times in catfish exposed to 43 μM chlorpyrifos in comparison to the control group (p<0.05). Carbaryl did not produce any significant change. These results indicate that AChE is more sensitive to administration of chlorpyrifos than carbaryl. The induction of the AChE gene indicates the possibility of using this gene as biomarker for detecting effects of organophosphate insecticides in hybrid catfish.

4 illus, 25 ref

006452   Shukor M Y;Hassan N A A;Jusoh A Z;Perumal N; Shamaan N A;MacCormack W P;Syed M A (Biochemistry Dep, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, ) : Isolation and characterization of a Pseudomonas diesel-degrading strain from Antarctica. J envir Biol 2009, 30(1), 1-6.

Diesel-degrading bacterium from Antarctica has been isolated. The isolate was tentatively identified as Pseudomonas sp. strain DRYJ3 based on partial 16S rDNA molecular phylogeny and Biolog GN microplate panels and Microlog database. Growth on diesel was supported optimally by ammonium sulphate, nitrate and nitrite. The bacterium grew optimally in between 10 and 15 ° pH 7.0 and 3.5% (v/v) diesel. The biodegradation of diesel oil by the strain increased in efficiency from the second to the sixth day of incubation from 1.4 to 18.8% before levelling off on the eighth day. n-alkane oxidizing and aldehyde reductase activities were detected in the crude enzyme preparation suggesting the existence of terminal n-alkane oxidizing activity in this bacterium.

3 illus, 2 tables, 18 ref

006451   Shukor M Y;Baharom N A;Masdor N A;Abdullah M P A;Shamaan N A;Jamal J A;Syed M A (Biochemistry Dep, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia) : Development of an inhibitive determination method for zinc using a serine protease. J envir Biol 2009, 30(1), 17-22.

New inhibitive heavy metals determination method using trypsin has been developed. The enzyme was assayed using the casein-Coomassie-dye-binding method. In the absence of inhibitors, casein was hydrolysed to completion and the Coomassie-dye was unable to stain the protein and the solution became brown. In the presence of metals, the hydrolysis of casein was inhibited and the solution remained blue. The bioassay was able to detect zinc and mercury with IC₅₀ (concentration causing 50% inhibition) values of 5.78 and 16.38 mg l^-1 respectively. The limits of detection (LOD), for zinc and mercury were 0.06 mg l^-1 (0.05-0.07, 95% confidence interval) and 1.06 mg l^-1 (1.017-1.102, 95% confidence interval), respectively. The limits of quantitation (LOQ) for zinc and mercury were 0.61 mgl^-1 (0.51-0.74 at a 95% confidence interval) and 1.35 mg l^-1 (1.29-1.40 at a 95% confidence interval), respectively. The IC₅₀ value for zinc was much higher than the IC₅₀ values for papain and Rainbow trout, but was within the range of Daphnia magna and Microtox^TM. The IC₅₀ value for zinc was only lower than those for immobilized urease. Other toxic heavy metals, such as lead, silver, arsenic, copper and cadmium, did not inhibit the enzyme at 20 mg l^-1. Using this assay, we managed to detect elevated zinc concentrations in several environmental samples. Pesticides, such as carbaryl, flucythrinate, metolachlor, glyphosate, diuron, diazinon, endosulfan sulphate, atrazine, coumaphos, imidacloprid, dicamba and paraquat, showed no effect on the activity of trypsin relative to control (One-way ANOVA, F_{12, 26} = 0.3527, p> 0.05). Of the 17 xenobiotics tested, only (sodium dodecyl sulphate) SDS gave positive interference with 150 37> activity higher than that of the control at 0.25% (v/v).

5 illus, 2 tables, 30 ref

006450   Sharma H K;Garg A;Singh Charanjiv;Sarkar B C (Food Engineering and Technolgy Dep, Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Longowal-148 106, Email: harish.sharma@lycos.com) : Effect of pretreatment conditions on the allyl isothiocyanate from mustard meal. J Fd Sci Technol 2008, 45(5), 420-2.

Allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), which has the potential as flavouring, antibacterial, antifungal, antifermentative, and antibrowning agent in food industry, was extracted from the pretreated mustard meal (MM) by distillation. On the basis of preliminary study, the range selected were 60-120 min, 50-70°C, 4-5 for the time, temperature and pH, respectively. The pretreatment conditions were designed by using response surface methodology using three level full factorial design. AITC content was maximum (0.60%) when the pretreatment conditions were 60°C for 120 min at pH 4.5. The desirability of the optimized conditions was 92.7%. The derived mathematical model for the AITC yield was found to be fit significantly to predict the data.

2 illus, 2 tables, 15 ref

006449   Sekhon B S (Biochemistry & Chemistry Dep, Punjab Agricultural Univ, Ludhiana-141 004) : Chemical genetics. Natn Acad Sci Lett 2008, 31(5-6), 133-48.

Chemical genetics has emerged in the past decade as a omplementary approach to illuminate biological function through screens of diverse small molecules (bioprobes) and is one of the new molecular genetics in which mutations in classical genetics are replaced by specific chemicals called small molecules/bioprobes. Chemical genetics aims to identify small molecules that either activate or deactivate protein functions using a combination of chemical and biological methods. Compared to classical genetics methods, the effects of small molecules are generally fast, reversible, tunable, easily accessible, can be initiated and studied at different stages in the development of the organism. A chemical genetic screen involves three important tools, a chemical library, a robust biological assay and a screening platform Diversity Oriented Synthesis provides access to diverse chemical structures rapidly using solid phase organic synthesis, robotics and' information sciences. The development of a tagged triazine library containing a built-in linker has provided a straight forward transition from phenotypic screening to target identification. Chemical genetics has became a fruitful grund for the identification of lead molecules and is fast advancing to answer many questions about the function, structure, affinity and location of all the proteins within a living cell utilizing many techniques spanning many disciplines. In near future, chemical genetics may have a great impact on agricultural development by lessening heat, cold and drought tolerance to grow crops.

3 illus, 1 table, 120 ref

006448   Sayyed R Z;Chincholkar S B (Microbiology Dep, P.S.G.V. Mandal's A.S.C. College, Shahbada-425 409, Email: riyaz829@indiatiems.com) : Production of exopolysaccharide: a biopolymer from Alcaligenes faecalis. J Fd Sci Technol 2008, 45(6), 531-3.

Synthesis of glucose, maltose or dextrin containing exopolysaccharide (EPS) by Alcaligenes faecalis was observed during its growth in sucrose containing medium. Presence of Fe^{2+ and Ca2+ was necessary for the production of EPS. Five μM of Fe2+ and 8.0 g/l of Ca2+, gave optimum (1367 mg/l) yield of biopolymer. Sucrose was the suitable carbon substrate and 2 mg % (v/v) inoculum was optimum. Optimized conditions resulted in increase in EPS yield by 4.4 fold. The amount of EPS increased with an increase in the viscosity of fermented broth utilization of sugar.}

1 illus, 1 table, 18 ref

006447   Ramesh M;Marx R;Mathan G;Karutha Pandian S (Biotechnology Dep, Alagappa University, Karaikudi-630 003) : Effect of bavistin on in vitro plant conversion from encapsulated uninodal microcuttings of micropropagated Bacopa monnieri (L.) - an ayurvedic herb. J envir Biol 2009, 30(3), 441-4.

Reliable and reproducible protocol for contamination free plant recovery system from alginated encapsulated uninodal microcuttings of micropropagated Bacopa monnieri L.have been developed after storage at 18°C for 45 days. Node segments excised from freshly micropropagated plants were encapsulated as single explant beads with 3.0 % sodium alginate and 80 mM CaCl₂ 2 H₂O. To find out the optimal concentration of fungicide bavistin for efficient plant recovery, different concentrations of bavistin (1.0 - 15 mg l^-1) were incorporated in to the encapsulation medium. 3.0 mg l^-1 bavistin showed no reduction in plant conversion and generated maximum number of shoots (45.6 ± 1.69) at high frequency with out any contamination after storage up to 45 days at 18°C. At high concentrations (13 and 15 mg l^-1), rupturing of calcium alginate coats after 8 - 9 days and gradual decline in the number of shoots indicates the toxic effect of bavistin on plant conversion. Encapsulated node cuttings stored up to 45 days regenerated shoots (5.2) and multiple shoots (45.6) in MS basal and hormone medium respectively. Maximum shoot length (8.2 ± 0.37 cm) was observed from encapsulsted node cuttings incorporated with 3.0 mg l^-1 bavistin on MS basal medium. 90% of the recovered plantlets were hardened off and successfully established in soil.

2 illus, 1 table, 20 ref

006446   Patil P A;Sawane M P;Pawar V D;Madnalwar V S; Fernandes A P;Wagh A J (Animal Genetics and Breeding Dep, Bombay Veterinary College, Parel, Mumbai-400 012) : PCR-RFLP of laptin gene in Pandarpuri buffalo. J Bombay Vet Coll 2009, 17(1), 46-8.

The study was undertaken with primary objective to do the polymerase reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) in Pandharpuri buffalo for leptin gene. DNA from 50 Pandharpuri buffaloes was extracted by phenol chloroform method. PCR was carried out in a final reaction volume of 25 μl and the reaction mixture was subjected to standard PCR protocol. A 329-bp leptin gene fragment of exon 3 was amplified using primers LI (5' - GGG AAG GGC AGA AAG ATAG-3') and L2 (5'- TGG CAGACTGTTGGA GGA TC -3'). After amplification, PCR products (329 bp) were digested with Sau 3A I restriction enzyme (RE). Sau 3A I digestion yielded three fragments of 298 bp, 19 bp and 12 bp, out of which last two bands i.e. 19 bp and 12 bp are not clearly visible on agarose gel. This confirmed the genotyping AA for all the DNA samples. Thus PCR -RFLP using Sau 3A I revealed all the samples to be monomorphic for this locus.

1 teble, 11 ref

006445   Park S K;Lee C W;Lee M Y (Medical Biotechnology Dep, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Chungnam - 336 600, Korea) : Antibacterial effects of minerals from ores indigenous to Korea. J envir Biol 2009, 30(1), 151-4.

Tested the antibacterial properties of a mix of minerals consisting mainly of sericite, talc, and halloysite from Korea. The preparation showed clear growth inhibition of the gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus subsp. aureus, S. epidermidis, and Bacillus cereus, as well as the anaerobic bacterium Propionibacterium acnes. These results indicate that this preparation, made from ore minerals indigenous to Korea, could be used to develop new antibacterial reagents.

5 illus, 2 tables, 25 ref

006444   Onbasli D;Aslim B (Biology Dep, Faculty of Science and Arts, Kastamonu University, 371 00, Kastamonu, Turkey) : Biosurfactant production in sugar beet molasses by some Pseudomonas spp. J envir Biol 2009, 30(1), 161-3.

Rhamnolipid biosurfactant production was investigated in eighteen strains of Pseudomonas spp. Rhamnolipid by these strains was determined by a spectrophotometric method in nutrient broth medium (NB). From the 18 strains screened, two Pseudomonas strains (Pseudomonas luteola B17 and Pseudomonas putida B12) which had produced the highest percentage yield of rhamnolipid were examined for rhamnolipid production at different incubation times (24, 48 and 72 hr) and different sugar beet molasses concentrations [1-5 % w/v concentration (1-5 g molasses/100 ml water)]. The rhamnolipid production increased with the increase in the concentration of molasses and maximum production occurred when 5% (w/v) of molasses were used. At the same time, maximum rhamnolipid production occurred after 72 hr of incubation. When the amount of rhamnolipid produced at different incubation times (24, 48 and 72 hr) and with different concentrations of molasses [1-5 % w/v concentration (1-5 g molasses/100 ml water)] by Pseudomonas spp.; was compared, no significant difference in amount of production was seen. These studies show that the waste product from sugar industry may be suggested for important biotechnological processes such as rhamnolipid production.

^ssc2 tables, 12 ref

006443   Margaret Usha Rani M;Suriya Vathana M (Biochemistry Dep, Periyar Univ, Salem-636 011) : Optimization of callus induction in Ocimum gratissimum. J Ecobiol 2008, 23(4), 397-8.

In vitro multiplication of Ocimum gratissimum was achieved using thin section of nodes as explant source. Thin section of nodes (1.0-1.5 mm), were cultured on MS medium containing varying concentrations of different growth regulators lAA-lndole 3-acetic acid, NAA-Naphthalene acetic acid. 2,4-Dichloropenoxy acetic acid. The callus initiation by 2,4-D at different concentrations (MS+0.5,1.0,1.5,2mg/l) showed significant callus rating (60,75, 85 & 95%), respectively. MS+2 mg/l 2, 4-D showed very good, callus rating, while IAA and NAA failed to initiate callus induction at (MS+1 mg/l and MS+2 mg/l) in O. gratissimum.

1 table, 8 ref